ACT OF INCORPORATION, 



CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS 



OF THE 



KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



ORGANIZED MARCH, 1838, 



AT 



I^OVTSITTJ^IjIE, KENTUCKir, 



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LOUISVILLE: ^O \ I 

PRENTICE AND WEISSINGER, PRINTEES. 
1838. 



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To incorporate the Kentucky Historical Society. 



Whereas, the collection and preservation of the antiquities 
of our country, and of memorials and documents, serving to 
illustrate its history and institutions, or to mark the progress 
of society, arts and letters in the United states have a tendency 
to enlarge the sphere of human knowledge, aid in the advance- 
.nent of science, to perpetuate the history of moral and political 
events, and to improve and interest posterity: Therefore, be 
•t enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of 
Kentucky, That John Rowan, George M. Bibb, Henry Pirtle, 
Geo. D. Prentice, Rev. James F. Clarke, Rev. Benj. 0. Peers, 
iimeon S. Goodwin, George Keats, Professors John H. Harney, 
7dmes Brown, and Leonard Bliss, Jr., Humphrey Marshall, Sen., 
Wilkins Tannehill, and Edward Jarvis, M. D., and such others 
as may associate with them for the purposes aforesaid, be, and 
they are hereby constituted a society and body politic and corpo- 
rate in law by the name and style of the Kentucky Historical 
Society, and that they and their successors and such other per- 
sons, as shall be legally elected by them, shall be and continue 
a body politic and corporate by that name for ever. 

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted. That the members of said so- 
ciety shallhave power to elect a President, Vice Presidents, and 
such other officers as they may determine to be necessary, 
and said society shall have one common seal, and the same 
may break, alter and renew at pleasure, and that the said soci- 
ety by the name aforesaid, as a body politic and corporate, may 
sue, and be sued, plead and be impleaded in all the courts in 
this commonwealth. 



Sec. 3. Be it further enacted; That the said Society shall 
have power to make rules and by laws for the government of its 
members, and managing its property, not repugnant to the con- 
stitution and laws of this State, and of the United States, and 
may expel, disfranchise, or suspend any member who by miscon- 
duct shall be rendered unworthy. 

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted; That the said Society may 
from time to time establish rules for electing officers and mem- 
bers, and also appoint times and places for holding meetings; 
and shall be capable in law to take and hold real and personal 
estate, by gift, grant, devise, or otherwise, and the same or 
any part thereof, to alien and convey; Provided, That the annual 
income of any real estate held by said Society, shall never ex- 
ceed the sum of fifteen hundred dollars; and that the personal 
estate, exclusive of books, papers and articles in the Cabinet of 
said Society shall never exceed the valut of ten thousand dol- 
lars. 

Sec. 5. Beit further enacted; That said Society may elect 
honorary and corresponding members, residing in and without 
the limits of the Commonwealth, and that the Honorable Henry 
Pirtle, of the city of Louisville, be, and he is hereby authorized 
and empowered to call the first meeting of said Society, at such 
time and such place in the city of Louisville as he may desig- 
nate. 

Sec. 6. Be it further enacted; That the Library and Cabinet 
of said Society shall be kept in the City of Louisville. 

B. P. LETCHER, 
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 
C. A. WICKLIFFE, 
Speaker of the Senate. 
Approved February 1st, 1838. 

JAMES CLARKE. 

By the Governor, 

J. M. BULLOCK, Secretary of State. 



OF THE 

KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 

ADOPTED MARCH 29, 183S. 



Art. I. This Society shall consist of acting, corresponding', 
and honorary members. The acting- members shall be, at the 
time of their election, inhabitants of the Commonwealth of Ken- 
tucky, and shall not exceed fifty in number. 

Art. II. All elections of members shall be made by ballot, at 
a stated quarterly meeting of the Society, the candidate having 
been openly nominated at the preceding quarterly meeting, and 
his name entered in the Society's records, and two-thirds of the 
members present voting in his favor. No member shall nomin- 
ate for active membership more than one candidate at a meeting. 
This article, however, shall not take effect untill the number of 
members shall amount to thirty. 

. Art. III. Each acting m.ember shall pay, as an initiation fee, 
the sum of five dollars, and the sum of two dollars annually. 
Any member shall, however, be exempted from the annual pay- 
ment of two dollars, v/ho shall, at any time, pay to the treasurer 
the sum of twenty dollars. 

Art. IV. The officers ox the Society shall be chosen annually 
by ballot, from the acting members and by them, at the annual 
meeting on the first Monday in October, and shall consist of a 
President, First and Second Vice Presidents, a Recording and 
Corresponding Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Librarian, who 
shall constitute an executive committee. 

A* 



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Art. V. The Society shall hold an annual meeting in Octo- 
ber, and stated quarterly meetings on the first Monday in Jan- 
uary, April and July. The President shall, on the application 
of any five members, call a special meeting by notice in the 
public prints. 

Art. VI. There shall be chosen at the annual meeting, stand- 
ing committees on the various leading objects connected with 
the history of Kentucky. 

Art. VII. At the request of any four members, the vote upon 
any motion, or the ballot upen any nomination of a member, 
shall be deferred to the next quarterly meeting for further con- 
sideration. 

Art. VIII. For the election of members, as well as for mak- 
ing alterations in, or additions to, the By-Laws and Regulations 
of the Society, it shall be necessary that nine members be pres- 
ent, and that two-thirds vote in the affirmative; but for the trans- 
action of other business, seven members shall constitute a 
quorum. 

Art. IX. This Constitution may be altered and amended as 
the Society shall deem proper; but no amendment shall be adop- 
ted except at the annual meeting in October, nor unless such 
amendment shall have been proposed for discussion at a previous 
quarterly meeting, and entered on the books of the Society. 

Art. X. The first election of officers shall be made at the 
quarterly meeting in April next, or at such time as that meeting 
shall adjourn to for the purpose: the officers first elected holding 
their offices until the first annual meeting in October. 



BY-LAWS 

OF THE KENTUCKY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



ADOPTED MARCH 29, 1838, 



Art. I. It shall be the duty of the President, or in his ab- 
sence, of the Vice Presidents in their order, to call, and to pre- 
side at all meetings of the Society. 

Art. II. It shall be the duty of the Recording Secretary to 
keep a record of the doings of the Society and of the Executive 
Committee in separate books, both of which shall be open to the 
inspection of any member. In the absence of the Recording 
Secretary, his duty shall be performed by the Corresponding 
Secretary. 

Art. III. It shall be the duty of the Corresponding Secretary 
to manage and carry on the correspondence of the Society. He 
shall enter in a book provided for the purpose, copies of all letters 
which he shall write, and carefully file and preserve all letters 
.and communications which he shall receive, and deposit them in 
the Library. In his temporary absence, by sickness or other- 
wise, the Recording Secretary shall perform his duties. 

Art. IV. It shall be the duty of the Treasurer to collect all 
monies due to the Society, giving certificates of payment to 
members, to receive all donations or bequests of money made to 
the Society, and to pay out these monies to the order of the 
Executive Committee. Of all moneys received and paid out he 
shall -keep a true and faithful account, and at the annual meeting, 
or oftener if required, shall render a particular account of the 
same to the Society. 



8 

Art. V. It shall be the duty of the Librarian to take charge 
of all books, pamphlets, manuscripts, letters, papers, and produc- 
tions of nature or art, which, by purchase, loan, or donation, 
may come to the Society, and these he shall arrange in classes, 
keep a catalogue of them, specifying their nature, author, 
donor, owner, or price and date. He shall send a letter of 
acknowledgement and thanks for every gift or donation made 
the Society, and give receipts for all loans and deposites. 

Art. VI. It shall be the duty of the Executive Committee to 
take charge and oversight of all the .property and funds of the 
Society, to collect by purchase, gift, or loan, such books, pamph- 
lets, papers, manuscripts, letters, &c., as may promote the gen- 
eral objects of the Society; and they shall cause them to be faith- 
fully preserved. They shall bind all pamphlets, manuscripts, 
and letters, which can be bound, except duplicates, and deposite 
them in the library. They shall draw on the Treasurer for mon- 
ies to pay all the ordinary expenses of the Society, and for the 
purchase of such books, pamphlets, &c., as they are authorized 
to procure, and shall attend to all other matters which may be 
for the good of the Society. They shall hold at least quarterly 
meetings, and keep a faithful record of all their proceedings, 
which shall be read at the next regular meeting of tlie Society. 
Three of this committee shall constitute a quorum. 

Art. VII. There shall be chosen at the annual meeting- 
Standing Committees on the following objects as connected with 
Kentucky, viz: 1. Agriculture, — 2. Commerce, — 3. Manufac- 
tures, — 4. Means of travel and communication, as roads, canals, 
boats, stages, &c., — 5. Growth of towns and increase of popu- 
tation, — 6. Education and Literature, — 7. Religion and Morals; 
and on such other objects permanent or special, as the Society 
may from time to time designate. And it shall be the duty of 
these several committees to watch, each over tlie particular ob- 
jects asssigned to it, to observe the present state and mark the 
progress thereof, and report on the same to the Society annual- 
ly; and when approved, these reports sliall be adopted by the 
Society as the history of these objects and deposited in the 
archives of the Society. These and all other reports shall be 
made on paper of uniform size, furnished by the Executive Com- 
mittee, v/ith margins of at least one inch on each side. 



Art. VIII. In case of death, removal, or resignation of either 
of the Secretaries, the Treasurer or Librarian, it shall be the 
duty of the Executive Committee to fill the vacancy, till the 
next annual meeting of the Society. 

Art. IX. No property belonging to the Society shall be suffer- 
ed to go out ol the Library or Cabinet without the unanimous 
consent of a quorum. 

Art. X. These by-laws may be amended at any quarterly 
meeting by a majority of two-thirds, provided the amendment 
shall have been proposed for discussion at a previous meetings 



N. B. — Persons elected to active membership become enti^ 
tied to the privileges of acting members of the Society, on 
paying to the Treasurer the specified initiation fee. 



CIRCULAR ADDRESS. 

The objects of the Kentucky Historical Society are the collec- 
tion and preservation of whatever may relate to the Antiquities, 
the Natural, Civil, Literary, and Ecclesiastical History of this 
country, but more particularly the St te of Kentucky and the 
Mississippi Valley. To promote these objects, the Society earn- 
estly solicit the aid of the liberal, the patriotic, and the learn- 
ed; and request all who feel disposed to encourage their design, 
to contribute to their Library or Cabinet such books, papers, 
documents, &c. as the following: 

1. Historical works of any description, particularly works 
relating to American history, or on subjects in any way connec- 
ted with it. 

2. Original letters, documents, and papers, which serve to 
illustrate in any way the deeds, habits, manners, customs, and 
pursuits of the pioneers and early settlers of Kentucky and 
the other Western States. 

3. Journals of Public Bodies, Copies of Records, and Pro- 
ceedings of Congresses, Legislatures, General Assemblies, 
Conventions, Political, Literary, Benevolent, or Religious, Trea- 
ties and Negotiations with the Indian Tribes, or with any State 
or Nation. 

4. Orations, Sermons, Essays, Discourses, Poems, Tracts, 
delivered, written, or published, which concern any public trans- 
action, remarkable character, or event. 

5. Topographical descriptions of Cities, Towns, Counties, 
and Districts, with Maps and whatever relates to the progressive 
geography of the country. 

6. Statistical Tables, as tables of population, meteorological 
observations, and facts relating to climate; tables showing the 
progress of Agriculture, Commerce, Manufactures, &c. 

7. Biographical Memoirs and Anecdotes of distinguished per- 
sons in America, particularly in Kentucky and the other Western 
States. 



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8. Accounts of Universities, Colleges, Academies, and Schools 
— their origin, progress, and present state. 

9. Original Essays and Disquisitions on the Natural, Civil, 
Literary, or Ecclesiastical History of any State, City, Town, or 
District. 

10. Facts, Anecdotes, Implements, Dress, Ornaments, &c., 
illustrative of the history, habits, customs, and rites of the In- 
dians of North America. 

11. Surveys, Drawings, Descriptions, and Relics, of the 
Mounds, Fortifications and Barrows of the West, and copies of 
the Ancient Inscriptions found on rocks in different parts of the 
country 

12. Magazines, Reviews, Newspapers, and other periodical 
publications. It is exceedingly desirable, that the Society should 
possess complete files of all the newspapers printed in this 
State, and those who may be in possession of files or parts of 
files, cannot confer a greater favor on the Society, than to place 
them in the Library. 

13. Facts respecting the Navigation of the Western Waters, 
serving to mark the progressiva improvements in boat naviga- 
tion, its increase, extent, &c. 

14. Curious or valuable productions or specimens of Nature 
or Art. 

Books, pamphlets, specimens, &c. designed for the Library 
or Cabinet of the Society, should be sent to the care of the Li- 
brarian. Communications designed for the Society, should be 
directed to the Corresponding Secretary. 

Books, original manuscripts, letters, papers, &c., which would 
be of value to the Society, but which the possessor does not 
feel willing, or at liberty to part with, may be made a special de- 
posite, the owner taking of the Librarian a receipt for the books, 
papers, or other articles so deposited, and having the liberty to 
withdraw the same at pleasure. 

Corresponding Secretary, > 
Of the Kentucky Historical Society. > 



.BJL '04 



